Tree or Stone Culture?

From my experience traveling and meeting people from many countries, I feel that people of Japan and many European countries share the same mentality toward environmental issues. Very concerned, and people are trying to take action in everyday life.

However I feel there is a difference in the HOWs, and today I would like to share just one thought about Stone culture and Tree culture.

Europe is a culture of "Stones".
The mountains or rocky, and architecture is made with bricks and stones. Religion is based on stone (eg. as you know, the first Christian church was built on a rock).

On the other hand, Japan has a culture of "Trees".
70% of land is forests, architecture is built with wood, and both Buddhism and Shinto have many stories related to trees (eg. Buddha died under a lime tree).

This makes a difference in how both areas concieve "sustainability".

European countries are good at "lasting quality". Many houses are built to last for hundreds of years, many houses are reformed and reused for centuries. Clothes and furniture are refurbished, and old things are valued as antique. The main approach to global warming is to build solar and wind energy plants. Sustainability means to create things that last for long.

Japan is good at creating "circular flow of material". Traditional houses are built to be renewed every few years, using trees and plants from nearby forests so after using it can be returned to the ecosystem. It is not surprising that Japan developed a great network of recycling industry, although there are critics that recycle can be a waste of energy. Biomass energy and forest maintainance are two big approaches toward global warming. Sustainability means to create things within the ecosystem, to return to nature.

Of course it is difficult to clearcut the two cultures, but I feel the difference occurs because of the different characteristics of Stone and Tree. stones are almost eternal, it doesn't burn or decay easily so it is natural for people to use stones to create something that will last forever. On the other hand, trees are not supposed to last for long when cut out from the woods. Therefore instead of trying to make it last forever, people tend to create things that are easy to return to nature. Trees are concieved not as single wood but as a whole concept, string of reproduction.

Indiginous natural condition definately shape the basic philosophy of people living there. If you know any other examples of nature and ways of thinking, or if you have any thoughts to add, please feel free to post a comment!

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